Natural Investments LLC Acquires New Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Natural Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,490 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,581,000. Home Depot accounts for 2.1% of Natural Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,700,427 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,767,449,000 after purchasing an additional 433,126 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,552,090 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,715,668,000 after purchasing an additional 125,441 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,516,827,000 after purchasing an additional 795,438 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,030,483 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,253,952,000 after purchasing an additional 409,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Home Depot by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 7,554,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,925,498,000 after purchasing an additional 599,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD opened at $374.13 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $399.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $400.08. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The stock has a market cap of $371.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HD. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities raised Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.50.

Home Depot Company Profile

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States and internationally. It sells various building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products, and décor products, as well as facilities maintenance, repair, and operations products. The company also offers installation services for flooring, water heaters, bath, garage doors, cabinets, cabinet makeovers, countertops, sheds, furnaces and central air systems, and windows.